It’s never a bad time to take a moment and marvel at the immense talent of Coco Gauff. At only 20 years old, she has cemented herself as a force in the game of tennis. With her 2023 singles win at the U.S. Open, we all believed she was poised to go on a run. Hell, she beat the 2024 U.S. Open champ Aryna Sabalenka for her first major singles title. This past summer, Gauff made appearances in the Paris Olympics, as well as this year’s U.S. Open. Unfortunately. To our surprise, she didn’t come away as a winner. I truly believe that some part of our disappointment stems from us living through the Serena Williams era. It’s a bar that was set high. And I think we have to recognize that we’re seeing a new bar being set by Gauff, and it’s just beginning.
In 1995 Serena lost her first professional tennis match at age 14. She wasn’t dominant from the onset. But 23 major titles later, you’d forget about all of that. We lived through a long period where Serena winning a major, seemed like a foregone conclusion. This month makes two years since Williams retired. And I think ever since women’s tennis has been in search of their next big star. Enter Coco Gauff who has shown the speed, power and poise to be able to hang with anyone in a match. Because of that, I feel that we all hope that she has a career that’s reminiscent of Williams.
I don’t doubt that Serena’s career has a heavy influence on how Coco would love to go about hers. Serena left a great example. I secretly don’t think that she’s finished. Time will tell if that’s the case. But when it comes to Coco, I hope that she embraces being the first Coco and not the next Serena.
If we can all look back at this lull of a season in a few years, with some major title wins by then, that would be great. But it would be unfair to put the amount of pressure on Coco to perform at the level of Serena. That’s not what she signed up for. And believe me, the amount of pressure to go one-on-one with another world-class athlete is high enough.
It’s important to add this stream of consciousness to the discussions that will ensue during future tournaments. Let’s remember that Coco isn’t even old enough to legally drink in this country. Let’s give her the time necessary to learn the lessons and refine her game. She is great, and she will be greater. This past summer’s losses will not define her career. But they will add flavor to a hell of an origin story.
